Formula One joins UN climate sport pact

(EurActiv, 23 Jan 2020) Globe-trotting motor racing series Formula One signed up to a United Nations climate pact on Wednesday (22 January), as the long-running sport’s quest to go green and refresh its image moves up a gear.

The world of F1 will visit 20 countries over the course of 10 months this year, taking hundreds of support staff, entire airplanes filled with parts and thousands of fans with it in the process.

F1’s new owners took over the sport in 2017 amid flagging TV viewership numbers and decreasing interest to visit racetracks, and have since strived to make the sport attractive again to younger generations and new parts of the world.

To that end, the sport and its France-based governing body, the FIA, yesterday signed up to the United Nations’ Sport for Climate Action Framework, a scheme that hopes to make sports greener and educate fans about the merits of sustainability.

“We aim to inspire greater awareness and best practice in sustainability motorsport standards,” said FIA President and former Ferrari team leader Jean Todt in a statement.

Signatories, which include the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, are committed to “undertaking systemic efforts to promote greater environmental responsibility”, as well as reducing overall climate impact.

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EurActiv, 23 Jan 2020: Formula One joins UN climate sport pact